July 13 - Cheech Marin

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On this day, in 1946, Richard Anthony Marin was born in South Los Angeles, California. The son of Mexican American parents (he doesn't speak Spanish although a lot of his relatives do), Cheech attributes his nickname to one of his uncles. When his parents brought him home from the hospital, his uncle looked at him and said he looked like a little chicharron, which is Spanish for fried pork rind. So, in retrospect, Cheech makes for a much better handle than an English speaking uncle would have bestowed, something along the lines of Porky. At any rate, the name stuck and since most of the characters he's played over the years have strong Chicano accents, Cheech fits better than Richard, even if only in a stereotypical way. He graduated from Bishop Alemany High School, a Catholic school in the Mission Hills area of Los Angeles. From there he moved on to San Fernando Valley State College, but he wouldn't last long enough to graduate again. In 1967, Cheech moved to Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada as a way to avoid being drafted into the Vietnam War. One day, when he was visiting Calgary, Alberta, he met a guy who would change his life.

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When Cheech met Tommy Chong, the two men instantly bonded. Noticing that they easily bounced comedic lines off each other, they decided to form a stand-up duo. Cheech and Chong became highly successful throughout the Seventies and into the Eighties. They released eight comedy albums, seven movies (four of which Chong directed) and made countless appearances in clubs and at festivals. Their humor was mostly based around hippies and the drug culture, most notably referenced in the title of their first film, Up in Smoke, and albums like Let's Make a New Drug Deal. The most famous line associated with the duo is "Dave's not here" from a routine on their debut album. By 1985, however, Cheech was looking to widen his career and felt that he needed to distance himself from drug based humor in order to do that. The break up of Cheech and Chong turned bitter, but Cheech was able to reinvent himself in the process.

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Cheech spent the rest of the Eighties starring in successful films like Born in East L.A. and not so successful films like The Shrimp on the Barbie. In 1990, he transitioned to television when he was cast in the spin-off of The Golden Girls, the short lived The Golden Palace, a Buena Vista Television production. He played Chuy Castillos, a hotel chef, for the 24 episode run of the show. Two years later, Cheech struck television gold when he was cast opposite Don Johnson for six seasons on the detective show Nash Bridges. Since then, he's had recurring roles on Judging Amy, Lost and Rob. He has the distinction of being the champion of the very first Celebrity Jeopardy! tournament and came in second in the Celebrity Jeopardy! Million Dollar Invitational. 

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Cheech has had a fairly prolific career making contributions to Disneyana. His first appearance for the company came in 1988, when he played a Disney Janitor in the television special Mickey's 60th Birthday. That same year he played the hyperactive chihuahua, Tito, in the hit movie Oliver and Company. His most well known Disney voice role is probably Banzai, one of the hyenas in 1994's The Lion King. He would return in that role for the direct-to-video sequel The Lion King 1 1/2 in 2004. Cheech stars as Chili, a Mexican redknee tarantula who shoots quills at the audience, in the 3D movie It's Tough to Be a Bug at Disney's Animal Kingdom. He plays Ramone, a 1959 Chevy Impala Lowrider, in all three Cars movies as well as the Radiator Springs attraction in Disney's California Adventure. He was the voice of Manuel the Rat in Beverly Hills Chihuahua. He played a Corrections Officer in 2017's Coco. And he has a recurring role on Elena of Avalor as Quita Voz. Whew.

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In recent years, Cheech and Chong have patched up their relationship and made appearances together ranging from guest shots on The Simpsons to an episode of Tom Green Live to recording a series of stand-up shows for release on DVD. The pair starred in their first film in almost three decades, 2013's Cheech and Chong's Animated Movie, and is reportedly working on the script for another movie as well. Cheech released an autobiography in 2017, Cheech Is Not My Real Name... But Don't Call Me Chong, and continues to make appearances on screens both big and small. You never know where he'll pop up next, but you do know you are likely to laugh when he does. Happy 73rd birthday, Cheech!